It's becoming a habit...

Cleaning up before bedtime, that is. It's a good habit. I like having a clean house. And I like waking up to one. And the truth is that it doesn't take much to keep it picked up. I just have to do a little here, a little there, and not leave it a mess when I go to bed.

So I don't know what my problem has been all these years.

But we're going on 2 weeks now of a company ready house that stays clean and picked up! And because it's already tidy, I've even been keeping it vacuumed, swept, and dusted. How's THAT for amazing?

It's not a miracle...

... but it comes pretty close. My inlaws left today and I already have the guest room company ready again, fresh linens and everything. That almost never happens. The dirty sheets and towels are in the washer and there are fresh sheets on the bed and towels in the bathroom. It's company ready. Both guest rooms are, actually. Almost - I need to put a new roll of toilet paper in the bathroom. That goes on my to do list.

DO NOW:
Toilet paper in the guest bathroom
Clean the shower, toilet, sink, and mirror

DO WHEN I HAVE TIME:
Make curtains for the guest room
Make a quilt hanger for the wall to display our pink wedding quilt

Must have been 3 days...

I didn't get it done while the girls were playing today, but once Zoe went home and Ellie went down for her nap I DID get the house vacuumed and the front bathroom cleaned. I even got a load of laundry done, start to finish.

And it must have been 3 days since I've done our laundry, because in that load were 3 shirts, 3 pairs of socks, and 3 pairs of underwear for me, and 3 shirts, 3 pairs of socks, and 3 pairs of underwear for Leif. So I'm guessing that was 3 days worth of laundry I did today.

What do you want to do today?

I have Zoe today, so depending on how the girls are playing and getting along, I would like to:

* Vacuum the house
* Clean the front bathroom

The rest of the house (basement NOT included) is pretty much clean. I could straighten up the books on my bedstand, but even the hot spots are clean. Woohoo!

I'm not feeling so hot right now, but if I get to feeling a little better (for some reason I'm just a bit woozy) I was thinking of taking the girls for a walk down to the park by the school so they could play on the slides. It's sunshiny outside and it should be warming up in the next couple hours, so maybe we can do that right before or right after lunch.

And today? Today I am dressed to the shoes. It's been a while on that one!

It occurs to me...

... that if we make it through tomorrow my house will have been clean (drop-in company clean!) for a whole week! WOW! It's great to wake up to a clean house every morning, and it really doesn't take that much to keep it clean throughout the day. All it takes is a little diligence, so here's to a good tomorrow!

A few timesavers...

One of the things that always slows me down on the way out the door is getting Ellie's milk and juice cups filled so we are prepared for hours out. Tonight I had a breakthrough....

FILL UP THE JUICE AND MILK CUPS THE NIGHT BEFORE AND PUT THEM IN THE FRIDGE!

Duh.... such a simple thing! So I did that tonight in preparation for heading to the Children's Museum tomorrow. I also have Ellie's backpack hanging on the doorknob, ready to go. And, once again, my clothes are laid out for tomorrow.

I went to bed tonight (for that is where I am right now.... ah, gotta love laptops) with a clean kitchen. The dishwasher is scheduled to run, and the dining room is clean. Laundry is put away, and I even took time to CLEAN my stovetop and the fronts of the oven and microwave. It will feel good to wake up to a clean house in the morning.

I even did my Mary Kay bedtime face routine, and I drank all my water and stayed within my calorie range for the day. Yes it has been a GOOD day.

Busy Day Tomorrow...

... and so my clothes are hanging on the doorknob, waiting for me to get dressed in the morning. I don't lay out my clothes the night before much now that I'm a SAHM, but it sure makes things easier when I have to get out the door in the morning.

unexpected change of plans

Yesterday I got a call from Taylor asking if I could take her and the babies to the doctor since her mother was feeling a little dizzy and couldn't drive. So I dropped Ellie off to play with Corinne (Taylor's mom watched the girls) and I took Taylor to the doctor. I picked her up at 10:30, and, due to some snow, a mis-scheduled appointment, running behind schedule, and waiting on blood tests, we got back around 1:30. During that time, Leif called me to ask if I could come pick him up from work. He had a migraine and was feeling awful. He got a ride with someone else and was sound asleep at 2:00 when Ellie and I finally walked in the door. I put her down for a nap and worked on putting away clothes. Leif got up around 3:00 and wanted me to spend time with him, and so I did until Ellie woke up. Then around 5:00 we all went into town to get some groceries and ate dinner at Costco.

Needless to say, I didn't get everything accomplished yesterday that I wanted. But we cleaned up after putting the groceries away and I am happy to say that I didn't sweat the stuff that didn't get done, and I woke up to a clean house this morning.

Today I got up and showered, got dressed, and made the bed. Then I worked on putting away Ellie's laundry while she ate breakfast. I got most of it folded and ready to put away when Susan Beth showed up for Latin at 9. Ellie played in her room most of the morning. We played blocks together for a while and then I worked on organizing some of her toys (aka finding puzzle pieces at the bottom of the toy box). And now Ellie is playing nicely, clad only in her diaper, bringing me pretend cake that she made. I did get her dressed this morning, but after Susan Beth left she wanted nothing to do with her clothes and pulled and cried until they came off. And so she has been running around in her diaper all day so far. *sigh* But you know what? It's okay.

I had a healthy breakfast this morning (scrambled eggwhites and one yolk with ham) and I'm going to eat a healthy lunch. Ellie had a good breakfast of cottage cheese and a little orange and then ate a chicken nugget and a lot of peas for lunch. She has had one cup of milk and a cup and a half of juice/water, and I have started working on my water for the day. And Ellie has watched no TV. We have played together and she has played by herself and it has been a good morning.

Progress...

A month ago I was overwhelmed by the chaos surrounding me. I still have days like that. But The house has been basically clean since I cleaned it Friday. We worked to maintain it (even the laundry!) over the weekend. And now I find myself comforted on Monday. I have a few things I would like to tidy up, but there is not the overwhelming mess left by days of activity. Though there were days of activity... Friday we had Ben and Kathy over for dinner (they brought the dinner and cooked it here), then Saturday and Sunday Leif's parents came out for Easter and to let us go out on a date Saturday night. But we cleaned up along the way and kept the dishwasher going when needed and today... no overwhelming mess!

Right now...

The bed is made.
Ellie is up, dressed, and fed.
I am dressed. (but lacking the shoes...)
The pantry is organized.
There is a mess under the kitchen table where Ellie smashed her crackers from breakfast.
There are a few towels that need to be put away.
The guest linens need to be washed, dried, and put away.
The craft room is a mess.

There are lots of things that need to be done, but lots of things are under control. And that is nice. Today is a new day, and it is a new week. And so, with my newly made bed as my starting point, I will work to make sure the house stays maintained today. I will work on the projects I need to finish and not stress over what doesn't get done. One day at a time. One project at a time. I can do anything in 15 minutes.

A New Day.

Today is a new day.

Today I am going to take control.
Today I am going to eat well.
Today I am going to record what I eat.
Today I am going to exercise.
Today I am going to work on picking up the house.
Today I am going to do my Bible Study.
Today I am going to smile.
Today I am going to live.

Because today is a new day and I am free.